Support garment for men



Aug. 22, 1961 1.. P. SIMONS SUPPORT GARMENT FOR MEN Filed Aug IMQQA 3 I N V EN TOR. %mmce 25mm fff fw;

United States Patent 2,997,044 SUPPORT GARMENT FOR NIEN Lawrence P. Simons, Highland Park, Ill. Continental Corset Co. Inc., 3008 N. Lincoln, Chicago 13, Ill.

Filed Aug. 13, 1959, Ser. No. 833,568 3 Claims. (Cl. 128-519) This invention relates to a support garment for men and particularly to an elastic abdominal support which can function as an undergarment in addition to an abdominal and back support.

Abdominal supports of elastic material for both men and women have been known for a long time. Such supports as a rule have a tendency to roll at the edges thereof. In particular, the top edge of such a support occurring at the wearers midsection has usually tended to curl and roll downwardly. This has made the wearing of such a support uncomfortable and where the material has curled to form two or three thicknesses, the tightness of the support has been oppressive.

This invention provides a construction which may be manufactured in a simple and economical manner and which is substantially free of any tendency to roll at the edge. In order that the invention may be understood, it will now be explained in connection with the drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevation of a combined undergarment and support embodying the present invention.

FIGURE 2 is a view on line 2-2 of FIGURE 1 with certain parts broken away to illustrate the construction.

FIGURE 3 is a view on line 3-3 of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 is a view on line 44 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 5 is a sectional detail on line 5-5 of FIG- URE 2.

Referring to the drawings, the combined undergarment and support comprises body preferably of tubular knitted elastic fabric material. Such material is well known in the trade and is available in connection with girdles and the like for womens wear. Body 10 has top edge 12, the outside of which is finished with smooth edging 14 of tape and the inside of which is here shown as finished with a fuzzy surfaced tape 15 available in the market under the name Helenca. Material 15 has a fuzzy coating for providing a soft but tight grip on the skin. Other'edgings may be used. The edging materials on both sides are adapted to be sewed in place by zig-zag stitching 16.

Body 10 has upper front panel provided on the inside thereof with strip 21 of woven material which is stretchable transversely of the trunk only. Thus, looking at FIGURE 1, material 21 may be stretched along lines parallel to section line 4-4. Material 21, however, will not stretch in the up and down direction as seen in FIGURE 1. Panel 21 is stitched to body 10 along edge 12 and also along seams 23 and 24 extending downwardly from edge 12. Panel 21 is wide enough (this is the dimension parallel to edge 12) so that it extends for about two-thirds of the width of the flattened garment as seen in FIGURE 1. The bottom edge of panel 21 is free and because of this three-edge attach- Patented Aug. 22, 1961 "ice ment of panel 21 to the body of the garment, it has been found that panel 21 not only supports the wearer, but also prevents roll-over of the edge of the garment.

Body 10 of the garment is preferably full-cut and has leg openings 26 and 27 formed by joining the front and back of body 10 by a crotch strip 28. Strip 28 is of soft elastic fabric with ends 29 (both ends are similar) set into inverted V-shaped notches cut into the body 10.

Crotch strip 28 is of woven material and is cut on the bias and is full so that end portions 29 tend to bulge outwardly. This will prevent the fabric from clinging to the body.

The edges of leg openings 26 and 27 are finished in the same manner as top edge 12 with both inside and outside tapes.

The garment is fully cut with top edge 12 being high enough to be at the waist of the wearer while leg open.- ings 26 and 27 extend well below the hips. Thus, the leg openings at the sides of the wearer will not be as abbreviated as is true of many elastic supports. If desired, however, leg openings 26 and 27 may be cut upwardly from the crotch so that the sides of body 10 will not be so long.

The garment so far described not only provides an athletic support and functions as a suspensory but also may be used instead of conventional undergarment shorts. It has been found that such an undergarment makes for a trim appearance, improves muscle tone and avoids that flabby appearance characteristic of overweight individuals.

The reinforcement at the front top portion of the garment is particularly desirable for flattening the stomach. The fact that reinforcing panel 21 is elastic transversely of the wearer only and is attached at the top and sides only, provides unusual comfort as well as support.

What is claimed is:

1. An undergarment for men comprising a seamless tubular knitted body of elastic fabric, the top edge thereof functioning as a waist band, the bottom portion of said body having a crotch strip to provide leg openings, and a woven reinforcing panel for the front upper portion of the garment just wide enough to cover the stomach of the wearer, said reinforcing panel being sewn to the top edge of the body and along the sides of the panel, said reinforcing panel being free of the body along the panel bottom, said panel being generally rectangular with the bottom panel edge being well above the crotch and the threads of the panel fabric running straight up and down and across, said panel fabric being elastic in one direction only whereby rollover of the waist band portion of the garment is substantially eliminated.

2. The construction according to claim 1 wherein the cross threads of the reinforcing panel are elastic.

3. The construction according to claim 1 wherein said garment has the edges bound with tape, the inside of the tape having a fuzzy surface.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Flesh Oct. 27, 1936 Rosenberg Sept. 29, 1959 

